Strong Earthquake Causes at Least Two Deaths in Southern Peru

Lima, Jan 14 (Prensa Latina) A strong earthquake killed two people in the southern region of Arequipa and injured 90, according to a preliminary report by the head of the National Institute of Civil Defense (Indeci), Jorge Chávez.

The official said that there are also approximately 90 injured and the head of the road service of Arequipa, Alberto Rojas, said the tremor, magnitude 7.1 on the Richter scale, caused rock falls on various roads, without interrupting the transit.

Chávez indicated that the earthquake caused two deaths, in the towns of Ñaupa and Chala and Rojas said that one was the result of falling rocks on a house located on the side of a road.

The earthquake that shook the region of Arequipa, whose capital is located 25 kilometers south of Lima, was recorded at 04:18 in the morning and about half an hour later there was a minor replication.

The mayor of the province of Caravelí, Santiago Neyra, said initial reports indicate that there are numerous damaged adobe houses in towns such as Acarí, Lomas, Bella Unión and others in the coastal area of Arequipa, where villagers did not return to their homes for fear of new earthquakes.

Both the head of Indeci and the mayor agreed in pointing out that the consequences of the earthquake are in the process of being evaluated and that assistance operations for those affected have begun.

The Peruvian Navy ruled out the possibility of a tsunami because of the earthquake in the affected area, which in July 2017 suffered several earthquakes that caused large rock collapses that damaged and blocked the important Pan-American Highway, which runs along the Peruvian coast, and secondary roads.